Tire building form



Jan. 23, 1934f A HES-[ON 1,944,865

TIRE BUILDING FORM Filed Oct. 50, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN ENTOR r unv L Esra/V ATTORNEYS Jan. 23, 1934. A H 1,944,865

TIRE BUILDING FORM lNV NTOR liZLE/V 5870A ATTORNEY PATENT GFFlCE CURE BUELDING FORM Allen L. Heston, Akron, Ohio, assignor to National Rubber Machinery Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application ()ctobcr 36, 1931. Serial No. 571,997

'7 Claims. (Cl. 1549) This invention relates to tire building forms, inoperative position by angular movement as disand more especially it relates to collapsible tire tinguished from radial movement. In the chuck building forms of the drum type used in the shown the intermediate rim sections 13 are manufacture of pneumatic tires by the flat band fixedly mounted upon the ends of respective arms or pulley-band method. 14, l i that are pivotally mounted at 15, upon 60, Tire building drums of the character mentioned a hub 16 that is keyed to spindle 11. Key secusually are provided with laterally adjustable tions 12, 12 of the rim are pivotally mounted at Wings or side flanges by means of which it is 14 l l on the respective arms 14, and respecpossible to utilize a single drum for the manutive links 17, 1'? are connected to the free end facture of a plurality of tire bands of different portions of the key sections, and to atoggle struc- Widths but of the same bead diameter. The lure (not shown) movable relatively of the hub 16, building of tire bands of different bead diameters whereby the key sections are moved angularly in with drums of the character mentioned requires the collapsing or expanding of the chuck. the use of respective drums for each different Mounted upon the respective rim sections 12, 13 bead diameter. with the result thatalarge amount are drum sections 18, 19, that are centrally diof equipment is required for the manufacture of vlded into two lateral halves so that each rim a complete line of tire sizes. Frequently much of section carries two halves. The halves of each this equipment is idle since even the largest drum section are substantially identical in conrubber companies do not make enough tires of struction, each comprising a peripheral portion 539 every size tokeep all the drums constantly in that overlies half the rim section and a flange 7 operation. or shoulder portion at its outer lateral margin. The chief objects of this invention are to in- Thus there are eight drum sections to a set, crease the usefulness of tire building drums in which when assembled on the chuck 10 constitheir capacity for building tire casings of various tute a complete the building drum. Preferably sizes; to provide a rotatable collapsible chuck with there is a set of d um Secti for every life Size, 60 removable drum sections that may be easily and and each chuck will be provided with a set for quickly mounted and removed; and to effect each tire size, or as many sets as may be deemed accuracy of dimensions in drum-built tire casdesirable. ings. In general, the invention aims to effect For securing the drum sections 18 and 19 to the 30 economies of time, labor, and equipment by prorim sections 12, 13, each of the drum sections is 5 viding a drum unit adapted for the manufacture formed With a pair of parallel, inwardly extendof substantially a complete range of tire sizes, ad a a es 8 1? the e t which unit is easily, quickly, and accurately of said flanges varying in the difierent sets of secaltered in changing from one size to another. tions to provide the requisite outside diameter for 'Of the accompanying drawings, the different drums. The inner lateral faces of Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tire building the flanges 18 9 a formed W ri-lspective unit embodying the invention in its preferred ribs 20, which ribs interiit with complemental form, parts being broken away and in section; grooves 21 formed in the respective lateral mar- Figure 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1; ginal portions, of the rim sections 12, 13, the Figure 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Figure 1; arrangement assuring accurate radial positioning Figure 4 is a section on the line 4- 1 of Figure 1; of the drum sections.

and The drum sections 18, 19 are secured to the Figure 5 is a section similar to Figure 3 of a rim sections 12, 13 y bolts there be wo modified form of the invention. bolts for sections 18 and three bolts for sections Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, 10 repre 19. The bolts 22 extend through the rim secoo sents generally a drum-supporiing chuck that is tions 12, 13, and through the flanges 18 19 of mounted upon a rotatable spindle 11 of a tire the drum sections in the region of the ribs 20, building machine of any known or preferred conthe heads of the bolts 22 having chordal' flat struction, the chuck comprising an annular rim portions that fit ag t respefitive fi t 23 5G or drum-support consisting of two oppositely formed on the flanges 18% l9 of the drum secdisposed key sections 12, 12, and intermediate tions on one side of the drum to prevent turning sections 13, 13. The invention is adapted for use of the bolts when the nuts 24 thereon are tigh With almost any kind of collapsing chuck, but ened or loosened. To permit removal of the drum it is especially useful with chucks having pivotally sections from the rim sections without requiring mounted key sections that move to operative or complete removal of the bolts 22, the flanges 18 19 of the drum sections are slotted at 25, 25 from the bolt holes to the inner periphery of the flanges, the slots of each drum section being parallel so that when the bolts 22 are loosened the drum sections can be lifted off the rim.

The rim sections and the drum sections are beveled at their meeting ends in the usual manner, and that end portion of each intermediate rim section 13 that adjoins the free end of a rim section 12 is slotted each side of the central plane of the drum structure and has respective plates 27 inset in said slots and secured therein by pins 28, 28 extending into the rim section, said plates 27 projecting beyond the end of the intermediate rim section 13 and extending into complemented slots 29 formed in the key sections 12. The projecting end portion of each plate 27 is recessed at so so that the plate constitutes a hook adapted to engage the adjacent bolt 22 of the key section to limit the outward movement of the latter in. moving to operative position. The drum sections 18 are slotted at 31, 31 to permit them to pass the plates 2'? in moving with the rim sections to or from operative position.

With the improved tire building form, the operation of changing from one size drum to another is a simple matter not requiring particular skill to obtain prope: dimension, in fact, the changing may be made by the builder who might otherwise be idle. To change the form from one size to another, for example, from that shown in full lines in Figure 2 to the size shown in broken lines therein, the uts 24 are unthreaded on the bolts 23 a little more than the depth of the grooves 21. This allows the drum actions 18, 19 on that side of the form to be pulled laterally so that the ribs 20 clear the grooves 21, and then to be lifted from the rim sections, the slots 25 in the drum flanges permitting the latter to pass the bolts.

When the drum sections on one side are removed, the bolts 22 are pushed axially to move their heads away from the flanges 18 19 of the drum sections on the opposite side of the form, thus permitting said sections to be pulled axially to clear their ribs 20 from the grooves 21, and then to be lifted from the rim sections as previously described. The procedure is reversed to mount the drum sections on the rim sections. The only tool required is a socket wrench, which may comprise a universal joint, as shown in broken lines in Figure 2, for use with drum sections of small diameter, the lateral flanges or wings of such sections extending too far inward to pemit use of a straight socket wrench.

The modified structure shown in Figure 5 may be used when, for the sake of economy, it is not expedient to use a separate set of drum sections for drums of the same bead diameter that differ only in width. The modified tire building form comprises a set of spacer members 34, 34 that are mounted upon one or both sides of the form, between the respective rim sections and the attaching flanges of the drum sections. Opposite sides or" each spacer member are formed respectively with a rib 35 and a groove 36 which register respectively the groove in the rim section and the rib on the flange of the drum section. The spacer members may be slotted as at 37, 37 to permit mounting upon the bolts 22 without removing said bolts from the rim sections. The use of spacer members 34 results in central circumferti rs-1 1.1.1 u

ential recess 33 in the working surface of the drum, between drum sections, and this recess may be closed by any suitable filler 39 if desired.

Other modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention, or the scope of the appended claims which are not limited wholly to the specific construction shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tire building form, the combination of a sectional annular rim structure, means for supporting, driving, and collapsing the same, a pair of drum sections for each rim section, each drum section being formed with an inwardly extending flange, and a plurality of bolts for securing the drum flanges to the rim sections, said flanges being formed with slots permitting the removal of the drum sections Without complete removal of the bolts.

2. In a tire building form, the combination of sectional annular rim structure, means for supporting, driving, and collapsing the same, centrally divided drum sections mounted upon the respective rim sections, each of said drum sections being form d with a radially inwardly extending flange for positioning the section in radially sp ced relation to the rim section, bolts securing the drum-section-fianges to the rim sections, and spacer members disposed between said flanges and rim sections and traversed by said bolts.

3. A combination as defined in claim 2 in which the spacer members have tongue and groove connection with the drum sections and the rim sections.

l. A combination as defined in claim 2 in which the spacer members are formed with slots permitting their mounting or removal without removal of the bolts.

5. In a tire building form, the combination of an annular sectional rim comprising a pair of pivotally mounted key sections and a pair of intermediate sections, means for supporting, driving, and collapsing the rim, respective plates mounted in one end of each intermediate rim section and extending therefrom into complemental slots formed in the free end of the respective key sections, the projecting portion of each plate being formed as a hook, drum sections mounted upon respective rim sections,

and bolts securing the drum sections to the rim sections, one of said belts in each key section being so disposed as to engage the hook-end of the plate in the intermediate section so as to limit pivotal movement of the key section in one I,

direction.

6. A combination as defined in claim 5 in which each drum section is centrally divided and the bolts secure the two parts thereof to a rim section and to each other.

'7. In a tire building form, the combination of an annular sectional rim comprising a pair of pivotally mounted key sections and a pair of intermediate sections, means for supporting, driving, and collapsing the rim, drum sections mounted upon the respective rim sections, means for securing the drum sect-ions to the rim sections, and means on the intermediate rim sections cooperating with the last mentioned means for limiting pivotal movement of the key sections in one direction.

ALLEN L. HESTON. 

